"pay the fiddler" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pays the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paying the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paid the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paid the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pay<,,paid> the fiddler"
      },
      "expansion": "pay the fiddler (third-person singular simple present pays the fiddler, present participle paying the fiddler, simple past and past participle paid the fiddler)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The three-day party had been a lot of fun, but now it was time to pay the fiddler.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To face the consequences of one's actions."
      ],
      "id": "en-pay_the_fiddler-en-verb-cQwuUaYn",
      "links": [
        [
          "consequences",
          "consequences"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To face the consequences of one's actions."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 81",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If you want to dance, you’ve got to pay the fiddler"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To contribute in order to participate."
      ],
      "id": "en-pay_the_fiddler-en-verb-dcSRb1g-",
      "links": [
        [
          "contribute",
          "contribute"
        ],
        [
          "participate",
          "participate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To contribute in order to participate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pay the fiddler.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1f/En-au-pay_the_fiddler.ogg/En-au-pay_the_fiddler.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/En-au-pay_the_fiddler.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "100 0",
      "word": "pay the piper"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pay the fiddler"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pays the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paying the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paid the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paid the fiddler",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pay<,,paid> the fiddler"
      },
      "expansion": "pay the fiddler (third-person singular simple present pays the fiddler, present participle paying the fiddler, simple past and past participle paid the fiddler)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The three-day party had been a lot of fun, but now it was time to pay the fiddler.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To face the consequences of one's actions."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "consequences",
          "consequences"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To face the consequences of one's actions."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If you want to dance, you’ve got to pay the fiddler"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To contribute in order to participate."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "contribute",
          "contribute"
        ],
        [
          "participate",
          "participate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To contribute in order to participate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pay the fiddler.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1f/En-au-pay_the_fiddler.ogg/En-au-pay_the_fiddler.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/En-au-pay_the_fiddler.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "pay the piper"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pay the fiddler"
}